1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device and method for removing earwax.
2. Description of Related Art
Devices for the extraction of earwax are generally known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,061 discloses a body with a padding mounted at one end of a shaft, wherein the padding has multiple grooves formed spirally in the body around the axis of the shaft. This design is disadvantageous because the body has narrow grooves that collect a small fraction of the superficial wax in an ear canal. Further, these general swab-type devices pack dense wax down into the ear canal generating a bolus of deep, chronic wax against the eardrum.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 1,450,612 describes an earwax removal device comprising an ear manipulator mounted at one end of a shaft, wherein the outer surface of the manipulator is covered with a series of radially disposed soft fins, which serve to brush the passage in the ear when inserted therein, and twisted or rotated. The ear manipulator has a pointed end to aid the removal of the waxy deposit in the external auditory canal. Again the solid head tends to bludgeon wax medially. Furthermore, the blind manipulation of small tool tips can often result in damage to the delicate canal skin-tympanic membrane surface interface.
Techniques of wax removal known in the art fail to penetrate into hard, dry impacted wax for effective extraction. The known devices for removal by experts under direct visualization, e.g. metal curettes and picks, tend to stir and particulate the material, disengaging it piecemeal from the mass and often cause canal skin injury. Present rotating devices may engage soft wax on walls but do poorly with more solid accumulations, are readily misdirected hazardously, and can be dangerous near the eardrum. Known irrigation techniques are often performed blindly, can be cumbersome in many settings, and do not detach wax from skin. Residual wet wax can be a nidus for infection. Poorly performed irrigation results in vertigo by stimulating the posterior semicircular canal. Likewise, wax softeners may aid in extraction but do not extract.
More efficient and effective devices and methods for removing earwax are needed. For example, wax removal devices with structural variations that provide multiple methods of extracting different forms of wax are needed. Thus, an objective of the present invention is to provide a wax removal device that has varying tip and body structures that allow removal of wax in different manners simultaneously. Another object of the invention is to provide wax removal devices with varying body structures incorporating at least one channel within the body to effectively collect wax, steer the wax laterally out of the canal, and actively prevent impaction of wax often caused by the use of present devices. Yet another object of the invention is to provide devices with various compressible and extension structures to effectively engage and dislodge wax and minimize the risk of damage by overly forceful insertions. Also, more anatomically correct wax removal devices are needed to better conform to an ear canal to ensure that the surface contacts are flush with the skin and eardrum to avoid the damage that may occur when small tools are inserted blindly in uncontrolled directions. Canal-fitted tools can more effectively remove the wax in bulk. Improved tools can bore, grind and mince wax in the course of collection. With these goals in mind, the inventor has created an improved wax removal device and method having the aforementioned desired qualities.